Context

With the advent of effective vaccinations, serious infections (SI) have become rare among children presenting to primary care settings, yet when not diagnosed promptly, such infections, especially meningitis and septic shock, can cause substantial morbidity and mortality. Hence, researchers continue to search for new diagnostic methods; the present study by Van den Bruel and colleagues investigates the basis and value of gut feeling or intuition in addition to clinical assessment for diagnosing SI in children.